Carpenter, Fowlis, Polwart open up with new song

The track is the latest unveiled from the trio's first collaborative album, "Looking For The Thread," out Jan. 24 via Thirty Tigers.

The trio will play six shows in the United Kingdom in March including sold-out dates in Sunderland and Edinburgh. "An Evening with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis, and Karine Polwart" will feature tracks from the new album, as well as songs from across their respective catalogues, accompanied by their transatlantic band.

Conceived in the remote west of Scotland and recorded at Real World studios, "Looking For The Thread" was produced by Bonny Light Horseman's Josh Kaufman. The 10-track album features Rob Burger (piano, organ, accordion, keys), Chris Vatalaro (drums, percussion), Cameron Ralston (bass) and Kaufman himself (guitar, keys), as well as additional contributions from Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh, whose work has been featured in The Gloaming, productions at the Abbey Theatre and in the film Brooklyn.

After first setting up a Dropbox to share ideas remotely, the three convened in January 2023 to perform alongside Robert Vincent at Song Circle, an event at Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland. From there, they headed north to a writing retreat at Kinlochmoidart House, where the disc was born.

"That first visit to Kinlochmoidart helped us feel that we had some things that might serve us," said Carpenter. "We'd gather in the beautiful room where the fire was, play and sing together, and then go off to our little corners and work on stuff on our own, come back together, and get to the next step."

The album, which features two tracks sung in Scottish Gaelic (led by Fowlis), was completed in a week at Real World studios, where the tracks were recorded live, everyone playing together in the same room. "The songs hadn't been pre-produced to within an inch of their lives and the band hadn't heard them in advance," said Polwart. "The musicians were such attentive listeners, none of them overplaying, all of them bringing a beautiful textural quality. There was something really beautiful and fresh about it."

Polwart and Fowlis, who is from the Outer Hebrides islands, have both enjoyed singing careers in Scotland. Fowlis sang the theme songs to "Brave," Disney Pixar's Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning animated film.

The track list is:
1. Gradh Geal Mo Chridhe
2. A Heart That Never Closes
3. Rebecca
4. Looking For The Thread
5. Hold Everything
6. Silver In The Blue
7. You Know Where You Are
8. Satellite
9. Buidheann Mo Chridhe Clann Ualrig
10. Send Love

Tour dates are:
March 2—Manchester, U.K.—Aviva Studios
March 3—Birmingham, U.K.—Town Hall
March 5—London, U.K.—London Palladium
March 6—Sunderland, U.K.—The Fire Station (sold out)
March 7-8—Edinburgh, U.K.—Festival Theatre